The Vampire's Bride
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: Part 4 of the Vampire Series. Eric & Sookie are finally tying the knot and they're doing it down in Bon Temps with the hopes of keeping the press out of the wedding. Unfortunately, the residents of Bon Temps are more than willing to help, like it or not.


This is a belated birthday present for **Missus T** and the other May babies in our fandom that I am aware of. If you haven't read "Interview With A Vampire" or "The Vampire's Assistant," stop now and go read those before diving into this one. This story is unbeta'd and purely for fun. Happy reading!

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Chaos<span>

_Each hour, each day, each year_  
><em>We grow as two, yet as one,<em>  
><em>We grow apart, yet together<em>  
><em>Forming an eternal love<em>  
><em>We, Susannah A. Stackhouse<em>  
><em>and Eric L. Northman<em>  
><em>invite you to share in the celebration<em>  
><em>of our marriage<em>  
><em>on Saturday, the fourth of June<em>  
><em>two thousand eleven<em>  
><em>at one o'clock in the afternoon<em>  
><em>Stackhouse Family Home<em>  
><em>3718 Hummingbird Road<em>  
><em>Bon Temps, LA<em>

Finally, after months of arguing and debating over when, exactly, we wanted to be married, Eric and I were able to set a damn date. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Both of us were workaholics and our wedding was high profile. We wanted to keep it as small as we possibly could. Since neither of us had much family, we would mostly be inviting friends and business associates. No one really cared all that much about me, or least they wouldn't, if I wasn't marrying a former model and current multi-millionaire.

It was like when a person inherits a big windfall and all of a sudden all these people come out of the woodwork expecting a handout. Old friends I hadn't spoken to since I first left Bon Temps years before were suddenly trying to get in touch with me, hoping they would be invited to the wedding. Sleazy, former hookups of Eric's were desperate to get in any last minute claims of infidelity on his part to keep us from exchanging our vows. The whole thing started to feel like a headache and we seriously started to consider just hopping on a plane, flying to Vegas and closing the deal there.

Unfortunately, we were pretty sure our privacy would be invaded even more so there than it would be in Bon Temps. When Eric and I made the decision we didn't want to get married in Los Angeles, we knew it would mean we could cut back the guest list considerably. We would send invitations because it was the polite thing to do but we knew there were quite a few people who wouldn't want to fly out to Louisiana just for a wedding. The people we really cared about having there would be there, no matter what they had to do to make it.

I asked my friend Tara to be my maid of honor since she was familiar with Bon Temps and knew exactly who I'd need to contact in order to get the ball rolling. Pam had taken it upon herself to hire a wedding planner, even though I had insisted I didn't need one. I planned to keep the wedding as simple as I possibly could. Eric and I agreed we wanted to get married in the spring, but there was no way we could possibly do it the year we got engaged. I wasn't even sure I could have a wedding dress before summertime.

"It's a dress, lover," Eric smiled at me over dinner one night and I kicked him under the table.

"You, of all people, should know that isn't true. Besides, Pam has already spoken to the people at Vera Wang about creating something for me if I can't find my Gran's gown in the attic." I told Eric. I was flying to Louisiana the following afternoon to take a look at the old farmhouse.

I would be meeting Pam and Lafayette there to go over the details and designs. I was very clear with Lafayette about what I wanted. Simplicity was the order of the day, as far as I was concerned. I wanted something romantic, but understated; sophisticated, but nodding at my southern roots. Lafayette was a New Orleans native himself, so he understood only too well what went into planning a southern wedding. Pam, on the other hand, seemed to think she was assisting in the planning of a royal wedding.

To keep the paparazzi off our trail where the wedding was concerned, we'd had the PR department at the office leak false information to the press in regards to when and where Eric and I would be married. So far my favorite thing was a rumor I was wearing a vintage Alexander McQueen wedding dress, even though Alexander McQueen (rightfully so) denied having done any work for our wedding. We had leaked the possibility of the reception being held at various venues in, and around, Los Angeles. The most popular theory was that we would be married at the Griffith Observatory since that was the first place we had been publicly spotted together way back when I first started working for Eric.

Eric and I kept mum about wedding details unless we felt like toying with the press. All of the orders for dresses, shoes, tuxedos, flowers, lights, tents, chairs, tables, catering and anything else that would be ordered would be ordered under my wedding planner's name and he only used vendors he knew he could trust to be discrete. He had planned several high profile weddings in the past and had come highly recommended by Sophie-Anne LeClerq, who had married Peter Threadgill, a powerful politician in Arkansas, the summer before Eric and I got engaged. I met Sophie-Anne at a Mardi Gras party Eric and I attended just after our engagement when news of it had first leaked into the press. Sophie-Anne had assured me Lafayette was trustworthy and she had no reason to believe he would do anything to jeopardize the privacy of our wedding.

I took her word for it and managed to speak to a few other brides he had worked with in the past. All of them had the same wonderful things to say about Lafayette's skill and character. They all celebrated his creativity; understanding and ability to bring to life what they had been dreaming of since they were little girls playing make believe. Of course, growing up, I had given my wedding a great deal of thought. What I wanted then and what I wanted as an adult, however, were two very different things. Well, except for one thing; I always knew I wanted to marry someone I was head over heels, crazy in love with.

Unlike my cousin, Hadley, I didn't buy into the Disney fairytale scenario. I was never naïve enough to think a beautiful prince on a white horse was going to come riding up and whisk me away and make me a princess. It bothered me a great deal when I'd hear things about my wedding and I would be compared to a princess. I was no Kate Middleton, that's for damn sure. For starters, I was fucking my boss. That's not exactly a very princessy thing to do. There were some who thought Eric had rescued me from a life of mediocrity or boredom, but that wasn't true either.

Of course my life was more exciting with him in it, but it was also more stressful. Balancing our personal relationship with our working relationship could be difficult, at times, and when we were having personal problems it showed at work. For the most part, though, we tried to leave our home at home and work at work. There were times when it was unavoidable they would bleed into one another but we were getting better at handling those situations.

"What about when we have kids?" Eric asked while we were stretched out together watching television the night before I left for Louisiana.

"What do you mean?" I asked since I had no idea where his line of thinking was at.

"Are you going to want to stay home with them?" I had no idea where this line of questioning had suddenly come from.

"I don't know," I shrugged and sat up so I could look at him. "We haven't really talked about kids too much other than we both know it's what we want. I guess I kind of thought we would wait and see what things are like after we have a baby. I mean, right now I think I'll be able to keep working but I might feel differently once we actually have a child. But I'll tell you one thing…" I trailed off with a smile on my face.

"What's that?" Eric smiled back at me.

"If I _do_ stay home with our kids, I'm totally helping you find an old man to be your new assistant," I laughed and let Eric pull me back down next to him on the couch.

We were face to face and he had his serious expression on when he said, "You know you're it for me, right? We're a done deal, Sookie."

"I know," I leaned in and kissed him.

We stayed on the couch just kissing for a while. I forgot how nice it was to make out with him. We kissed a lot but not like that. It was always in passing or because it was building to something else, but not that night. That night we just lay there on the couch, staring at each other and kissing until we decided it was time to go to bed. I liked that our nights were mostly quiet. I liked that we were both content to stay home, cook dinner together and watch movies or go for a swim in the pool.

Of course there were nights when we had to go out, whether it was because of business or because Eric had to make an appearance somewhere, but we had cut back quite a bit on the number of public appearances we made. We were both tired of answering questions about the wedding since we were trying to keep it quiet and we had no way of knowing who was going to go running to the press to sell us out. I liked that we could be hermits together. I knew Eric felt like he had spent more than enough time in the spotlight. He didn't miss the clicking and flashing of cameras and I had never wanted to be in the spotlight to begin with.

I wondered if we would ever be able to move out of Los Angeles. I wasn't crazy about raising our children in LA. I didn't necessarily want to raise them where I had been brought up, but somewhere in between would be nice. I'd had the opportunity to meet a few celebrity moms in the last few years and they all said it was possible to give their kids a normal life. Maybe that was true but I didn't want to have to take extraordinary measures to make that happen. I didn't want to worry about security teams or building crazy big fences around our property to keep unwanted guests from just squatting on our lawn whenever they felt like it. I didn't want my kid being chased down the street while he or she was riding their bike and I didn't want a police escort to the park to play. Okay, maybe that last little bit was an exaggeration. The point is, I hadn't lived in LA long enough for my sense of 'normal' to become warped.

Eric took me to the airport the next afternoon. We had lunch together at a small Mexican place we loved not far from the office first. I was only going to be gone for three days but I knew I would miss him like crazy. Moreover, I knew he was going to go slightly insane without me. He pulled my bag from the trunk of the car and handed it over to me before stooping down to kiss me goodbye.

"I think I'm going to miss you, Stackhouse," he whispered in my ear.

"You better," I smiled, and then kissed him once more before turning to go inside.

"Send me pictures, will you?" he requested.

"Sure thing, boss," I winked over my shoulder and then went inside.

**o.O.o.O.o**

My Gran's house looked amazing. Technically, it was _my_ house but I could never think of it that way. The historical society had done a fantastic job in restoring it. The house that had once belonged to the Compton family had been turned into a bed and breakfast, which was just perfect considering I needed a place to stay, as would my guests for the wedding. Having an inn right across the cemetery was going to be a great benefit to everyone. Eric and I would be spending our wedding night in the farmhouse alone.

The bed and breakfast was run by a woman named Gracie Lou (I'm serious) who was married to a pilot stationed over at Barksdale. They had two teenage boys, one of whom was interested in following in his father's footsteps. The other, it seemed, wanted to design video games when he grew up. Regardless of future aspirations, the boys were well mannered and shared their mother's wicked sense of humor. I learned all of this in a matter of minutes when I first arrived.

"How long will you be staying?" Gracie Lou asked while I signed some paperwork for her.

"I'm only here for three days, so just two nights," I explained as I looked around. "The house looks amazing. You've done a fantastic job with the remodeling."

"Thank you!" she said with excitement as she plucked a key from one of the hooks on the wall. "At first my husband thought this might be a mistake but I love it. This neighborhood has been good for our boys. My husband was stationed at McGuire in New Jersey for the longest time so that's where the boys were born but I wasn't crazy about the schools there and I definitely didn't like the crowd the boys were raised with. And I'm originally from Texas, so I felt like a fish out of water up there," Gracie Lou explained as she showed me to my room. "I'm sorry, sometimes I talk too much."

"No, not at all. I understand exactly how you feel. Having grown up here, I don't really feel like I belong in Los Angeles most of the time," I smiled at her.

"Well, it looks like someone definitely likes that you're there," Gracie Lou looked pointedly at my engagement ring.

"He better," I snickered and held my hand up so she could get a better look at my ring.

"You're engaged to Eric Northman, right?" Gracie Lou asked, then instantly looked apologetic. "I get nosy. You don't have to answer that."

"I don't mind," I smiled at her. "Yes, I'm engaged to Eric Northman."

"I hope you don't mind me saying so, but I saw it on the TV and I think it's awful the way people keep butting into your business. It's not just you, of course, but I've seen all the hoopla. Planning a wedding is stressful enough without the media acting like some crazed future mother-in-law."

"Isn't that the truth?" I sighed and put my bag on the bed. "This is a lovely room, Gracie Lou. Do you mind me asking who did your decorating?"

"You're looking at her," Gracie Lou said with pride. "In my spare time I took some decorating classes and did a lot of research on antebellum homes. We aren't quite there yet but we're getting closer. I love the traditions of the south. And don't you worry; I won't tell anyone you're here."

"Thank you, Gracie Lou, I appreciate that," I went over to the window to see what sort of view I had.

"You can call me Gracie. Now supper is served at six. I serve tea—when there are guests- promptly at three. Breakfast starts at seven and I serve until nine. If you need any spare towels, pillows or blankets you just let me know and I'll be happy to get them for you."

"Thank you, Gracie, that's really kind of you," I turned to see her smiling back at me.

"I'd give you the usual rundown I give my guests but since you're a native I don't need to tell you where to shop or the points of interest in town," Gracie said awkwardly.

"Nope, you certainly don't."

"Well, I'll let you get settled then. If you need anything just holler."

"I will. Thank you, Gracie," I smiled once more before she turned and closed the door behind her when she left.

I didn't really need to unpack much since I had only brought casual clothing with me. Bon Temps wasn't the sort of place where fancy labels would mean much to anyone. When I was younger just about every piece of clothing I owned either came from Wal-Mart, resale shops or my Gran made it herself. It was because of my Gran's amazing skills with a needle and thread that I was anxious to get over to the old farmhouse and see if her wedding dress was still up in the attic where I left it.

I had faxed a map to Pam, highlighting the route she needed to take in order to find the old farmhouse since it was set far back off the road. Trying to find anything in Bon Temps just by doing an internet search was tricky, at best. The town had somehow managed to stay rather anonymous, even with all the technological advances. The fact that we had a Wal-Mart was a huge deal. There was a bit of a public uprising when Starbucks infiltrated since it meant other chain restaurants were soon to follow.

The closest fast food place was a Sonic and it was over in Ruston. Most folks in Bon Temps cooked their own meal, ate at the bar, went to the one and only diner in town, or had a cookout/potluck with friends or family. Most of the moms I knew when I was younger would do almost all of their cooking, or at least the prep work, for an entire week's worth of meals on Sunday. Since my Gran was always home for supper, there was never a reason for us to go out to eat. I think we ordered pizza maybe twice a year and that was it. Gran liked cooking and she knew it was healthier than eating out anyway.

It made me laugh to think how shocked Eric had been when I told him I didn't really care all that much for most of the restaurants in Hollywood. It wasn't that the food wasn't good; I was just used to eating home-cooked meals. I preferred to get my hands (and kitchen) dirty and do it myself. I walked through Home Sweet Home cemetery and stopped to have a chat with Gran before going over to the farmhouse.

"Hey, Gran, I'm sorry it's been so long since the last time I came to visit. Things have been pretty hectic lately. I'm sure you already know, but I'm getting married in the spring. His name is Eric and he's my boss. I'd like to think you approve of him, even if you wouldn't have approved of the way we met. It took me a long time to come to terms with my feelings for him, but I'm glad I did. He's a wonderful person, Gran. He loves me, which is the most important thing, of course, but even better, he's my friend. I remember how you told me to make sure I married my best friend, and that's what I'm doing. He makes me happy; he makes me laugh; he makes living in Los Angeles worth all the headaches it causes. I miss it here sometimes. I forgot how quiet it gets," I said as I looked around the cemetery. "I promise I'll come back again before I go but I have to go meet Pam and Lafayette to discuss wedding plans. I promise I'll tell you all about it."

**o.O.o.O.o**

If I haven't already mentioned that Lafayette Reynolds is a trip, then that was a huge oversight on my part. So far we had only spoken on the phone and exchanged emails. When I first learned Pam had hired him, he sent me an extensive questionnaire so he would have a better idea of who he was working for and what it was I wanted out of my wedding. I gave him details about my relationship with Eric that I hadn't given anyone else.

I was standing on the front porch of the old farmhouse when a Towncar pulled up. The driver got out to open the back door and Pam appeared moments later. Based on the way she was dressed, Pam must have thought I was serious when I told her Bon Temps was a cross between Hazzard County and Mayberry. She was dressed like she had raided the _Wizard of Oz_ wardrobe trailer, only her 'ruby slippers' were five inch Louboutin red leather pumps. I never, in my life, would I have thought I'd see Pam in a gingham pinafore, but she was rocking it like a boss.

Lafayette stood out just as much with his monochromatic plum colored suit and royal blue silk tie. He was even wearing a plum colored fedora with a teal feather in it. I did a double take, wondering if he was a wedding planner or a pimp. I watched as they both took in the farmhouse. Pam looked disapproving; while I was sure I could see the wheels of possibility turning in Lafayette's head. Being that he was a southern boy at heart, I was sure we would get along just fine; it was Pam who was going to be trouble.

"Lafayette, darling, this is Sookie Stackhouse, bride-to-be. Sookie, this if Lafayette Reynolds, wedding planner extraordinaire," Pam introduced us.

"How-dee-do?" I greeted him with a small curtsy that had Pam rolling her eyes.

"Didn't Eric fuck the redneck out of you yet?" Pam arched an eyebrow at me.

"Ignore her. There wasn't enough foam in her latte this mornin' and she been impossible ever since," Lafayette waved Pam off. "I am so pleased to meet you, Miss Sookie. I think we's gon' get along juss fine."

I loved how warm and friendly he seemed. He had been very appreciative of every thought and idea I had sent his way. The driver of the Towncar pulled a large portfolio from the trunk of the car and brought it up to the porch before returning to his post. Pam continued to look around, swatting at the various bugs that were swarming about. It was obvious to me Pam was not built for country living.

"Can we please go on inside?" Pam nearly whined.

"Go on, Pam. Let Sookie and me have us a little chat," Lafayette dismissed Pam, which was something I had only ever seen Eric do in the past without getting a kick in the shin or a laxative in their coffee.

Pam rolled her eyes and went inside. I wasn't even sure why she'd come with Lafayette. She had told me she was curious about my hometown but if she was just going to get in the way, I would prefer she just went back to New York and annoyed people there. Lafayette and I had work to do and I couldn't be flying down to Bon Temps every other weekend for wedding planning. Lafayette understood the time restrictions I had, which was why it was a good thing Pam had hired him (even if I wouldn't admit it out loud). If it were left up to me to do alone, Eric and I wouldn't get married until we were sixty.

"First things first, have you found your dress yet?" Lafayette asked once we were seated on the recently replaced porch swing.

"I'm hoping to wear my Gran's dress. It's going to need a little modernizing, but it's got all this beautiful lace and beadwork on it. It has beautiful pearl buttons on the back and there's a high collar to it, which is why I want to modernize it. I want to keep the over-all feel of the dress without losing the vintage charm of it," I told Lafayette, who seemed impressed that I was so sure of what I wanted.

"Do you have a picture of it?" he asked.

"I do at home. I didn't think to bring it with me. But I cleared it with the historical society for us to go up to the attic and take a look around."

"Good, that's good. Your family used to own this house?"

I nodded and launched into the Stackhouse family saga, telling him everything I knew about the lineage of my family. By the time I was finished I couldn't tell if he was bored or overwhelmed. Either way, we decided it was time to go in and see if we could find the dress. Pam climbed the stairs with us to the second floor, which had been turned into storage space after I sold the house. The attic door had been padlocked to keep tourists out. The property manager was the only other person besides me to have a key.

I let down the ladder for us to climb up, at which point Pam started complaining again and decided to wait for us downstairs. I shook my head and wished she'd just stayed in New York. Pam wasn't usually a whiner, so I had to wonder what had crawled up her ass and died. Lafayette sent me up the ladder first and I sneezed immediately because of all the dust. I knew the property manager went up there once a month to clean a little, but dust settled quickly. I tried to remember where I had put Gran's dress, and then I remembered clearing a special place for it.

I had sealed it up in one of those space saver bags to make sure it wouldn't get moldy and bugs wouldn't be able to get at it. The bag was heavy and tucked neatly just where I left it. I tugged the bag free from where I'd wedged it, and handed it over to Lafayette.

"Child, please tell me you didn't preserve this in a vacuum sealed bag?" Lafayette shook his head.

I shrugged and said, "It seemed like the best idea at the time."

"Storing a dress like this in plastic might mean the wrinkles won't come out. We best pray the good Lord knew better than you did when you sealed this bag," Lafayette hugged the dress to his chest, closed his eyes and dropped his head while he said a small prayer for the wellbeing of the dress.

When we got back downstairs the first thing Lafayette did was release the valve on the dress to let air into it again. Thankfully, the dress was still nice and dry but the wrinkles…the dress wasn't a complete disaster and Lafayette was hopeful that with some steam treatment and professional cleaning we might be able to restore it. I teared up a little at seeing the dress again. It was going to need alterations galore if I was going to be able to wear it for my wedding.

For starters, Gran had been a bit bigger than me in most areas. There was also a small tear in one of the sleeves closer to the elbow. I planned on removing the sleeves mostly anyway. Full sleeves would be too warm, but cap sleeves would be elegant and cover a small scar I had from rough housing when I was still a kid. I also didn't need as much train as the dress currently had.

We took the dress downstairs and Lafayette retrieved his portfolio. He had a sketch pad inside and began to sketch the redesign of Gran's dress. Even if we couldn't use her exact dress for the wedding, at least he had an idea of what I wanted. By the time we were finished, Lafayette had a drawing of my dream dress in his hands.

"The good news is that the dress can be scrapped for parts if we can't get the wrinkles out of it. We can still use the original lace and the overlay for the new gown," Lafayette explained with a hopeful smile on his face. "If we're blessed, the wrinkles will come out after we get it cleaned."

With the gown style established, Lafayette was convinced he could design the rest of the wedding with a clearer theme in mind. We were planning for late spring of the following year. I released a deep breath of relief. We talked color schemes, table settings and catering options. We walked the yard and tried to figure out how we could set up the area for the ceremony and where we would put the tent for the reception. The key thing was to have the wedding early enough that it would be warm outside but not so late we would be battling mosquitos the whole time.

At the end of the three days I was more excited than I had ever been about the wedding. Lafayette was a brilliant planner and Pam had lightened up when I started talking bridesmaids' dresses. I took her opinions into consideration when we looked at dress samples Lafayette had pulled for me. The good thing about a small bridal party was knowing I wasn't going to have to corral a bunch of women together for dress fittings. Tara was with me in Los Angeles and Pam had access to designers and tailors galore since we kept them on staff for fittings at Genesis East.

I gave Lafayette the contact information for Lisel, a house photographer, who had already agreed to photograph the wedding for us. I was a huge fan of Lisel's work and even had her take our engagement photo that we had released to the press. She had a brilliant eye and I was sure the pictures she took would be beautiful. I left Lafayette with a feeling of confidence. Everything was coming together bit by bit. We planned to meet again the following month. He would come to Los Angeles with his personal tailor to have my wedding dress fitted. Hopefully by then I would know what bridesmaids dresses I wanted.

I had a lot of decisions to make and I couldn't wait to get home and talk it all over with Eric.

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><p>I'm hoping to have a new chapter of this for you next week but with the moving, I can't guarantee it. But rest assured, I <em>am<em> working on it. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


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